Department for Transport

Network Rail

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Bowe report into Network Rail will be completed, and whether it will be published.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Secretary of State for Transport expects to receive the Bowe Review once it is completed later in the autumn.The Secretary of State has committed to publish the Review in the autumn.Upon publication copies will be placed in both Libraries of the House.

Network Rail: Land

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they have proposed to requirements for disposing of Network Rail land not currently used for rail-related purposes.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Condition 7 of Network Rail’s network licence regulates the disposal of the company’s land assets. Network Rail’s network licence is held with the Office of Rail and Road. The Government has not proposed any changes to Condition 7.

Speed Limits

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent recommendations in a report by Brake that local authorities need simplified powers to introduce 20 mph zones.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Local authorities have sufficient powers to introduce 20 mph zones. The Department issued revised guidance in January 2013 aimed mainly at traffic authorities who are responsible for setting local speed limits. This guidance was revised following full public consultation in Summer 2012 and is available online on GOV.UK

Stansted Express Railway Line

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are plans to improve the Stansted Express service from Liverpool Street to Stansted airport; and if so, what are the details of those plans.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The current operator is engaged in discussions with Network Rail in regard to improving Sunday service provision to Stanstead Airport. And as we have stated in the East Anglia Stakeholder Briefing Document and Consultation Response, in the next long-term franchise Stansted will be served with an earlier weekday morning service, and other measures we have specified will improve both reliability and punctuality across the franchise including the London Liverpool St to Stansted services. We are also specifying a direct Norwich to Stansted service for the new franchise.

Airports: Noise

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to reform and improve the system by which noise associated with airports is measured in order to make it more closely aligned with systems used across Europe.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Under the Environmental Noise Directive, major airports in the EU including the UK are required to map for noise every 5 years using the same noise metrics.In addition, for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted the Environmental Research and Consultancy Department of the CAA map the average summer day and night exposure contours annually. Other Airports in the UK, may map for noise using metrics they think the most appropriate.

Railways: Tickets

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on the South East Flexible Ticketing Scheme, and whether there have been any delays to previously announced plans.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: A review of initial proposals to make smart tickets available across the south-east with a target date of end December 2015 has led to a refocused and enhanced programme with a wider geographic scope and an improved technological approach. As part of this, a new South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) central back office, providing critical IT infrastructure and data processing capability, has already undergone testing and, working with industry to establish how best to offer smart ticketing to passengers in the south-east, we have already reached agreement with 5train operators, serving 73% of all rail season ticket holders in the south-east. We are continuing to work with operators to ensure full coverage of services in offering foundations for smart ticketing.In addition, though this scheme smart season tickets are already available to customers on Govia Thameslink Railway and c2c. South West Trains and Abellio Greater Anglia plan to introduce smart seasons on their services in January 2016; Southeastern will follow at the end of 2016. The programme is planned to complete in 2018.

Local Sustainable Transport Fund

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue with the Local Sustainable Transport Fund beyond 2016; and if not, whether they plan to replace it with an alternative fund for sustainable transport.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: All future budgets, including those for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, remain subject to Spending Review negotiations. Further information will be made available after the outcome of the Spending Review is announced on 25 November.

Pedicabs: Greater London

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 22 July (HL1498), whether they plan to bring forward regulations regarding rickshaws in London in order to protect tourists from excessive charges.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is continuing to consider the Law Commission’s recommendations for reforming taxi and private hire legislation, including the proposal that rickshaws in London are brought within the regulatory regime for taxis and private hire vehicles.We are already engaged with the Mayor of London in discussing the implementation of the recommendations from the Law Commission.The Government will formally respond to the Law Commission and announce its intentions once this scrutiny is completed.

Cycling: Per Capita Costs

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they spend each year per capita on cycling initiatives.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In the five years 2011/12 to 2015/16, the Department for Transport (DfT) has increased its spend on cycling in England from £1 per head to £3 per head. Local authorities also spend significant amounts on cycling and so over the same period, total spend on cycling in England has increased from around the £2 per head inherited from the previous Labour administration to £6 per head. Spend per head is over £10 per head in the eight Cycle Ambition Cities and London.Cycling ProgrammesAverage spend in each year of programme (£)2011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16DfT spend per head£1£2£2£2£3Total spend per head£2£4£5£5£6All the figures above are to the nearest pound.For investment plans beyond April 2016, the Department must act upon the Secretary of State for Transport’s duty to set a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, with objectives.

Railways

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of, and what conclusions they have drawn from, the report by JMP Consultants Ltd for the Passenger Transport Executive Group Destination Growth: the Case for Britain’s Regional Railways.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Passenger Transport Executive Group’s Destination Growth report is a useful contribution to the research that underpins the case for Britain’s Regional Railways.The Government is investing record amounts in building a world-class rail network across Great Britain, helping to create jobs, boost businesses, and secure long-term economic growth in every part of the country.

Trains

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with Vivarail, train operating companies, and Passenger Transport Executives on the potential use of D-trains (class 230), and for which areas or services.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The deployment of rolling stock is a matter for train operators.Department for Transport officials have met with Vivarail to understand their proposals for the refurbishment of D78-Stock. Along with other industry stakeholders, officials have visited Vivarail’s facilities at the Long Marston Depot.The Great Western Railway franchise includes a commitment for the operator to carry out initial feasibility studies in respect of a number of potential projects, and one of these is into the use of D-Class trains.Vivarail is a private sector company that has developed these proposals at its own risk.

Cycleways

Lord Higgins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the effect on air pollution of the construction and use of bicycle lanes, particularly in London.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Department for Transport has not completed any estimates specifically on the effect of construction and use of bicycle lanes on air pollution. But we recognise that encouraging car users to switch to alternative, more sustainable, forms of transport like cycling can generally have both health and carbon reduction benefits as well as improving local air quality.When we appraise cycle schemes for funding, we apply WebTAG unit A5-1. This appraisal looks at outcomes only and does not consider impacts during the construction phase of a scheme. Where a scheme includes shifts away from mechanised modes and changes in congestion levels, we use marginal external costs, including air pollution. This is done at an individual scheme level and reported in the appraisal of each case; therefore no holistic study has been undertaken. This appraisal does not take account of potentially complex changes to motorists behaviour (such as speed and route choice) resulting from the introduction of cycle lanes.Transport for London state that during the construction phase some localised short-term slight impacts on local air quality can be expected from the use of plant and vehicles. However, contractors are required to minimise dust and emissions to air and comply with the Greater London Authority and London Councils’ Control of Dust and Emissions from Construction and Demolition Best Practice Guidance.Transport for London undertake air quality modelling to ascertain the impacts during operation. Schemes such as the East-West Cycle Superhighway show that the likely impact of the introduction of cycle lanes and changes to the road layout on air quality ranges from adverse to beneficial. The study shows that changes in traffic will redistribute emissions across the study area but will not increase overall emission levels.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the steel industry in the light of the director of UK Steel's statement that the steel industry is in crisis.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There is no straightforward solution to the complex global challenges facing the steel industry; however, the Government has been extremely active in advocating for, and supporting the sector. On 16th October, we held a Steel Summit, which was an important opportunity to bring the key players together and since then we have been taking urgent action to address the ‘5 Asks’ of the steel industry, operating through three Ministerial led working groups. We are also supporting the metals sector more widely through the industry-led Metals Strategy, which will provide a platform for Government to work with the industry on some of the most pressing issues holding back the future growth of the sector.Firstly, we are tackling unfair trade practices where clear evidence exists. We supported and voted for the renewal of EU anti-dumping measures on wire rod, and lobbied successfully for an investigation into cheap imports of Reinforcing Steel Bar. The Business Secretary had meetings with European Commissioners and spoke with key counterparts in other Member States on 28 October, calling for firmer, faster action against unfair trade practices. As a direct result, an extraordinary meeting to the European Competitiveness Council is taking place on steel.In addition, the Prime Minister discussed steel with President Xi during his recent visit. The Chinese President recognised the UK’s concerns and will be taking action to address Chinese overcapacitySecondly, the Government has confirmed to the steel industry that it will be able to take advantage of special flexibilities to comply with new EU rules on emissions. These are now awaiting final approval by the Commission.Thirdly, the steel industry has been invited to present detailed evidence on issues affecting the business environment at the next meeting of the steel working group on competitiveness and productivity chaired by the Treasury Commercial Secretary.Fourthly, with regard to energy costs, following the meeting between the Business Secretary and the Competition Commissioner on 23 October, we are now expecting to have state aid approval to provide relief to our Energy Intensive Industries for the cost of renewables policy by the end of this year. Further to that, the Prime Minister announced on 28th October that we will make an additional £45m available to commence compensation for the costs of the Renewables Obligation from the date of state aid approval, alongside providing relief to these sectors from the costs of the small Feed in Tariffs. An exemption for the costs of the Contracts for Difference will also commence early next year. This is on top of over £50 million of support already given to the steel industry to mitigate increasing electricity costs.Finally, we are taking action to drive up the number of public contracts won by UK steel manufacturers and their partners through fair and open competition. The National Infrastructure Plan contains a significant number of projects which will use British steel, e.g. Crossrail – with four UK based companies providing over 50,000 tonnes of steel; and HS2 - where Government has already given notice of the thousands of tonnes of steel that will be needed. Following the first meeting of the steel procurement working group chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Government published on 30 October new guidelines for departments to apply on major projects when sourcing and buying steel. The new instructions will help steel suppliers compete on a level playing field with international suppliers for major government projects.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider extending the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator in order to deliver fair prices for dairy farmers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The jurisdiction of the Groceries Code Adjudicator is defined by the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. The Code governs the commercial relationships between the ten largest UK supermarkets and their direct suppliers, and reflects the findings of the Competition Commission’s market investigation into the supermarket sector conducted between 2006 and 2008.The Government has no plans to extend the powers of the Adjudicator at this time. There will, however, be a statutory review of the performance of the Adjudicator next year in accordance with section 15 of the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013.

STEM Subjects: Graduates

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduates who will not be in education or employment one year after graduation, in each of the next five years.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: Estimates for future years are not available.

STEM Subjects: Graduates

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduates in education or employment one year after graduation.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: The Government attaches great importance to the supply of science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills and the value that they bring to all sectors of our economy. It has commissioned two independent reviews into graduate employment and accreditation in STEM which aim to explore some of the issues around the employment outcomes of graduates from STEM disciplines.Sir William Wakeham is leading the review into STEM disciplines. A second, separate review is being led by Sir Nigel Shadbolt and is considering the specific concerns related to graduates of Computer Science. [HL3019]. The reviews are due to report to Ministers in Winter 2015/16. (Note: further information can be found at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/kess/gradstemreview/)

Small Businesses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to support growing small businesses that require more facilities after they leave business hubs.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Growing small businesses can get assistance from a number of Government schemes. For example the Government set up Enterprise Zones across England to support new and expanding businesses by offering incentives such as tax relief on top of the doubling of Small Business Rates Relief which we have extended for a further year until April 2016.There are also Catapult centres round the country - places where the very best of the UK’s businesses, scientists and engineers work together to transform ideas into products and services. They allow small businesses access to resources and equipment they may need.Small businesses can find out more about these schemes and also obtain other advice that may help them by approaching their local Growth Hub. There are now 30 Growth Hubs across England that are bringing together local and national business support so that people can find the help they need quickly and easily.[i][i] http://www.lepnetwork.net/about-leps/the-network-of-leps/

Small Businesses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any discussions are taking place about supporting ING Groep NV's plans to expand their small-business lending programme.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The government wishes to see a diverse and competitive market for lending to small and medium businesses and welcomes new entrants to that market. We are aware of ING’s recent equity investment in an online lending platform. That is a commercial matter for ING which the government has not discussed with the company.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: LGBT People

Lord Cashman: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific plans they have to ensure that plans to deliver the Global Goals for sustainable development agreed by the UN in September take account of the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

Baroness Verma: The Global Goals for Sustainable Development offer a historic opportunity to eradicate extreme poverty and ensure no one is left behind. To realise this opportunity we will prioritise the interests of the world’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged people including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.The UK will listen and respond to the voices of those left furthest behind, such as LGBTI people; hold ourselves and each other accountable for designing policies and building inclusive institutions; take steps to enable all LGBTI people to have opportunity and reach their full potential; challenge the social barriers that deny people opportunity and limit their potential, including discrimination and exclusion based on sexual identity, and, support a data revolution to assess whether targets are being met by all LGBTI peoples.A note describing DFID’s specific approach to LGBTI rights, will be published on UK Government website by the end of 2015.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the response to conditions in the southern Yemen city of Taiz.

Baroness Verma: The people of Taiz are in urgent need of humanitarian supplies. The city continues to experience intense fighting, which is making it extremely difficult for aid agencies to deliver humanitarian assistance. There are reports that efforts to access the city and provide relief have been consistently blocked by the Houthis over the past month.The UK continues to call on all parties to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered access to all people in need in Yemen. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support UN and NGO partners' efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to Taiz city.On 27 September 2015, the Seretary of State announced an additional £20million for humanitarian assistance to Yemen, bringing our overall contribution for 2015-16 to £75million and making the UK the 4th largest bilateral donor to Yemen crisis

Department for Education

Teachers: Training

Baroness Donaghy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether initial teacher-training programmes delivered using core places allocated to universities are as schools-led as those delivered through School Direct.

Lord Nash: A school-led training course gives trainees the chance to train on the job in at least two schools.School-led initial teacher training is made up of School Direct (tuition fee), School Direct (salaried) and School-centered ITT provider (SCITT) routes. One of the key principles of the School Direct training route is that it gives schools the decision-making power they need to work with their preferred partners in the design and delivery of ITT, and to select and recruit the best possible candidates. A number of different models have been developed by schools working with appropriate ITT providers based on local needs.Many schools are choosing to work with universities in the delivery of School Direct training. The same ITT criteria, which specify the minimum amount of time that trainees must spend in schools, apply to all ITT routes, whether school or university-led.The increasing availability of school-led routes alongside university-led courses allow applicants to choose the right course depending on personal circumstances, qualifications, and the subject and age group they want to teach.

Teachers: Training

Baroness Donaghy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why a cap has been imposed on recruitment to initial teacher-training programmes by universities but not on school-centred initial teacher training and School Direct recruitment.

Baroness Donaghy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the different controls placed on recruitment to university initial teacher training and recruitment to School Direct and school-centred initial teacher-training programmes in 2016–17 on the choice available to prospective trainee teachers.

Baroness Donaghy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure the continued viability of teacher training delivered by school-university partnership other than through School Direct.

Baroness Donaghy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have taken to ensure that the increase in school-centred initial teacher training and School Direct initial teacher training does not undermine existing programmes delivered by mainstream school-university partnerships.

Lord Nash: The government is committed to the ongoing expansion of school-led initial teacher training (ITT). The move towards school-led ITT has created new opportunities for universities to grow their business: engaging directly with schools to become their chosen partner; and working with school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) to offer academic awards. In addition, the university sector as a whole has the opportunity to recruit trainees up to the same overall level as they have for the 2015/16 academic year. It is, therefore, not expected that this change of approach will have a substantial impact on the higher education sector.

Teachers: Training

Baroness Donaghy: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis they have carried out of the impact of the increase in School Direct and school-centred initial teacher training on the availability of placements for students on mainstream school-university programmes.

Lord Nash: The National College of Teaching and Leadership does not collect information on placements. These are negotiated between providers and schools as part of their partnership arrangements.

Grammar Schools: Maidenhead

Lord Stevenson of Balmacara: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will support the proposal by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to invite the Sir William Borlase Grammar School to open a new grammar school in Maidenhead in the near future.

Lord Nash: Current legislation prohibits the introduction of a new grammar school. The government has been clear that we have not changed the law in this area.The government is supportive of all good and outstanding schools that seek to expand, in order to deliver more school places and greater choice to parents. Any school proposing such an expansion would need to demonstrate that it was a genuine continuation of an existing school. Schools that have successfully proposed an expansion have met a high threshold and other schools would need to do the same.

Vocational Education: Design

Lord Freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take steps to increase the number of vocational pathways in design disciplines, and if so, by how many.

Lord Nash: There are a variety of different options available to young people to enable them to gain the skills required to enter design related occupations. 14-16 year olds can study design related GCSEs and government approved technical awards. 16-19 year olds can study design related A Levels and government approved technical certificates or tech levels, which are supported by employers. Options beyond this include higher education or employment, and there are apprenticeships currently available in the field of design. We want to go further to reform technical and professional education to develop a world-leading system to deliver the skills that the economy needs. The Productivity Plan, published in July 2015, announced the government’s intention to reform technical and professional education to provide individuals with clear, high-quality routes to employment.

Ministry of Justice

Immigration: Appeals

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the cuts in the budget of the Ministry of Justice on the ability of first-tier tribunals to hear and determine immigration and asylum appeals.

Lord Faulks: The Government is confident that there is sufficient funding to enable the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration & Asylym Chamber) to hear and determine the number of immigration and asylum appeals to be received during 2015-2016.

Criminal Proceedings: Fees and Charges

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to bring forward their review of the mandatory criminal courts charge.

Lord Faulks: It is right that we find better ways to pay the costs of running our criminal courts, and the introduction of this charge has made it possible to recover some of the costs from offenders, which reduces the burden on taxpayers. The Government is keeping the operation of the criminal courts charge under review.

Legal Aid Scheme

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the total cost to the public purse of their appeal against the High Court’s ruling in R v The Secretary of State for Justice [2014] EWHC 2365 (Admin).

Lord Faulks: As a matter of principle this Government believes that individuals should have a strong connection with the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme. We believe that the residence test we have proposed is a fair and appropriate way to demonstrate that strong connection. We have therefore pursued an appeal against the High Court’s judgment in this case.The total costs to the public purse of pursuing this appeal can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Liverpool Prison

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the October report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons on HM Prison Liverpool that "the prison's daily routine was chaotic and unpredictable" and that 44 per cent of prisoners were locked in their cells during the working day.

Lord Faulks: HMP Liverpool is committed to implementing the recommendations of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons report of 20 October 2015.Hours worked in Industry have increased month on month from 57% to 88%. A new activity centre has been opened and provides additional regime places for 100 prisoners. Vulnerable prisoners have been re-allocated to alternative regime places within the prison following the disbanding of B wing. This unit did not have activity places allocated to it. Prison laundry activity places have been allocated to prisoners located on the drug rehabilitation unit providing additional regime places.Plans to introduce a new Welcome centre which will allocate shorter term prisoners to activity places more quickly, will soon become operational.Further improvement methods such as electronic prescribing are currently being piloted to improve the efficiency of treatment and medication practices, thereby providing a more consistent regime.

Liverpool Prison: Restraint Techniques

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the October report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons on HM Prison Liverpool, what action has been taken to ensure that when force is used in HM Prison Liverpool it is the minimum necessary to ensure safety.

Lord Faulks: HMP Liverpool is committed to implementing the recommendations of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons report of 20 October 2015.Restraint is only used as a last resort where no other form of intervention is appropriate. HM Prison Liverpool is committed to ensuring that the minimum force necessary in any situation is applied.

Civil Proceedings

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what proportion of cases heard in the Commercial Court in each of the last five years one or more of the parties was domiciled or registered outside the jurisdiction.

Lord Faulks: The attached table shows statistical information for the last 5 years that details the number of claims issued and the number of claims with one or more parties outside of England and Wales. Data for 2014/15 is not yet available.  Financial Year  Percentage 2009-2010  75.16% 2010-2011  81.78% 2011-2012  82.34% 2012-2013  80.76% 2013-2014  80.94%

Open Prisons

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many places in category D prisons were available in England and Wales in each month since January 2013.

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many places in category D prisons in England and Wales were occupied by prisoners in each month since January 2013.

Lord Faulks: Progression to open prisons is never automatic, and prisoners must generally be within two years of release before they can be considered for allocation. Public protection is paramount, only those prisoners who are assessed as low risk of escape/abscond and low risk of causing harm to the public are transferred to an open prison.The following table shows the number of category D places that were available and occupied by prisoners in open prisons in England and Wales as at the last Friday in each month since January 2013. This information is published monthly on gov.ukThe data above does not include the number of places available and in use in category D units in otherwise closed prisons. Breakdown of the population and capacity of the dedicated open estate fromJanuary 2013 to October 2015.MonthCapacityPopulationJan-135,1314,933Feb-135,1314,953Mar-135,1314,982Apr-135,1314,993May-135,1314,988Jun-135,1314,981Jul-135,1314,988Aug-135,1314,994Sep-135,1314,990Oct-135,1315,005Nov-135,2035,048Dec-135,2174,993Jan-145,2174,932Feb-145,2174,994Mar-145,2175,037Apr-145,3395,159May-145,3395,122Jun-145,3395,087Jul-145,3395,082Aug-145,3745,011Sep-145,3744,943Oct-145,3974,846Nov-145,3974,814Dec-145,3974,759Jan-155,4054,666Feb-155,3294,680Mar-155,1314,691Apr-155,4534,922May-155,4684,876Jun-155,5445,020Jul-155,5695,019Aug-155,5695,062Sep-155,5205,076Oct-155,5505,127

Alexander Blackman

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Criminal Cases Review Commission to conclude its investigation and report on the case of Sergeant Alexander Blackman.

Lord Faulks: The Criminal Cases Review Commission has not received an application from Sergeant Alexander Blackman.

The Lord Chairman of Committees

Catering and Retail Services (HL): Redundancy

Lord Palmer: To ask the Chairman of Committees how many members of staff in Catering and Retail Services are being made redundant.

Lord Laming: There have been no redundancies in House of Lords Catering and Retail Services this year. Three sous chefs left via a voluntary exit scheme following a restructuring of back of house services.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of additional hours of employment and jobs available to people wanting to increase their working hours in order to avoid the proposed four-year freeze in working age benefits from 2016.

Lord Freud: The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.

Social Security Benefits

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many people will work more hours as a result of the proposed four-year freeze in working age benefits from 2016.

Lord Freud: The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Air Pollution: EU Law

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which European Union directives apply to urban air pollution; and how each is enacted in United Kingdom law.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: There are two main pieces of European legislation applicable to urban air pollution:The Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for Europe Directive 2008 (“the Directive”) applies to urban air pollution. It has been transposed in England by the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively, the Directive has been transposed by the Air Quality Standards (Scotland) Regulations 2010, the Air Quality Standards (Wales) Regulations 2010 and the Air Pollution and the Air Quality Standards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010. The regulations reflect the legally binding limits set by the Directive for concentrations in outdoor air of major air pollutants that impact public health such as particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The Directive requires the undertaking of air quality assessments and the reporting of findings to the European Commission annually. The UK has statutory monitoring networks in place to meet the requirements of the Directive, with air quality modelling used to supplement the monitored data.The National Emission Ceilings Directive (2001/81/EC) (NECD) sets limits on total annual emissions of key air pollutants (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia) to help reduce transboundary air pollution. The NECD is transposed into UK law by the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2002.There is also further legislation aimed at delivering specific reductions in emissions from certain areas of the economy, which for competitive or single market reasons has been set at European level. This includes:The Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU)The Sulphur Content of Liquid Fuels Directive (1993/32/EC)Petrol Vapour Recovery Directive (94/63/EC)The Quality of Petrol and Diesel Fuels Directive (98/70/EC).

Air Pollution

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which authorities are responsible for the monitoring of urban air.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: In England, overall responsibility for monitoring ambient air quality lies with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In addition the Environment Agency is responsible for monitoring emissions from large and complex industrial processes in England. This function is undertaken by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency in Scotland, Natural Resources Wales in Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. Under the Local Air Quality Management System, local authorities are responsible for reviewing and assessing ambient air quality.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the European Union policy of requiring farmers to erect notices advertising the European Union if they receive grants; whether such notices require planning consent; and whether they will require that all such advertising notices should also indicate information about the ratio of United Kingdom contributions to the European Union budget and the sums returned by way of grants to farmers and others.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: EU regulations require any business who receives over €500,000 for capital items to display a billboard setting out:The name of the projectA description of the activity supported by the projectThe name of the funding stream: ‘European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas’The full relevant EU logoWe expect less than 1% of all agreements will be large enough to meet this requirement.However, the Minister of State for farming, food and marine environment will be considering how this requirement might be removed in future CAP regulations.

Livestock: Clones

Baroness Parminter: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the amendments adopted by the European Parliament in September to the proposed Directive on the cloning of certain species for farming purposes (COM (2013) 0892); and what advice they gave to United Kingdom MEPs prior to their adoption.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The UK sees no justification for either the original European Commission proposals for further restrictions on cloning activity or the European Parliament’s proposed extension to the progeny and descendants of clones; and all animal species.The science is clear that the meat and milk from clones and their offspring is as healthy as from more traditionally reared animals; and EU and national rules already exist to protect the welfare of the livestock concerned.What is more, there is no cloning of farm animals conducted in the EU at present, so introducing any further controls, will not materially increase welfare standards within the Community.Briefing to this effect was provided to UK MEPs in advance of the Parliament’s discussions.

Flour: Additives

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 22 July (HL1237) regarding a consultation on flour additives, what is the timetable for that consultation, whom they are consulting, and what options for possible change they are considering.

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 22 July (HL1237), whether any proposed change to the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 will be forwarded to the relevant scientific committee for consideration.

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 22 July (HL1237), whether the consultation in respect of the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 includes the devolved administrations.

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to move responsibility for flour fortification from millers to food manufacturers.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: In June this year the Government held an informal consultation in order to seek views on possible additions to the exemptions currently allowed under the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 from the requirement to fortify flour with calcium, iron, niacin, and thiamine. The exemptions that were envisaged would allow more efficient and streamlined manufacturing operations for foods produced for export as well as for the home market, without compromising the public health benefits which accrue from fortification. A range of interested parties were consulted including millers, flour users, retailers, fortificant manufacturers and health professionals.The options proposed in the consultation would allow millers to produce unfortified flour in England when used as a secondary ingredient which undergoes further processing, or is used in relatively small quantities in products. This approach was welcomed by most consultees and the Government is now considering how to take this forward.The Department of Health and Public Health England has considered the proposals and concluded that it is unlikely that an exemption from fortification for flour used in such products will have a nutritionally significant impact on the intakes of calcium, iron, thiamine or niacin.The changes proposed would apply to England only since food legislation is a devolved matter. The devolved administrations are aware of these proposals but have not yet made any decisions on whether to introduce similar changes.Respondents to the consultation also asked for some additional flexibility around the point at which the fortificants are added to flour. At the moment flour must be fortified at the mill and the four fortificants are added as a premix at the end of the milling process. Many businesses which manufacture foods both for the home market and for export requested the flexibility to be able to add the fortificants at the bakery stage. They highlighted that the requirement for separate storage and handling for, both fortified and unfortified flour (which is used for exported products) was creating significant manufacturing complexities. That resulted in a more restricted product range and is having an adverse effect on their export potential and their ability to diversify into new global markets. The Government is currently considering this.

Home Office

Refugees: Middle East

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of Oxfam’s proposals for the worldwide resettlement of the most vulnerable 10 per cent of the Iraqi and Syrian refugees who are outside their home countries.

Lord Bates: The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, our largest ever humanitarian response to a single crisis. We are the second largest bilateral donor after the US. Approximately half of UK assistance is targeted towards the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. By meeting basic humanitarian needs and helping to create new opportunities we aim to help Syrians to build a life in neighbouring countries.The UK’s position is that funding provided to the region is a more sustainable way of dealing with the refugee crisis rather than encouraging dangerous onward migration journeys. For this reason, the UK’s resettlement offer focuses on supporting the most vulnerable Syrians directly from the region who would best be protected in countries like the UK.

Syria: Refugees

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to co-ordinate the work of non-governmental organisations and charities in order to improve the support available for refugees as they leave Syria, and to support them in settling and integrating into European life.

Lord Bates: The UK has been operating resettlement schemes for many years and we already have established and effective networks to accommodate and support resettled people.However, we recognise that the increase in numbers will require an expansion of current networks and the impact on local communities and infrastructure will need to be managed carefully. That is why we are working with a wide range of partners including local authorities and civil society organisations to ensure that people are integrated sensitively into local communities.

Refugees

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Church of England following the letter sent to the Prime Minister by 86 bishops on 10 September about the Church providing funds to meet all additional costs of increasing the number of refugees taken into the United Kingdom; and what assessment they have made of the further support the Church of England can provide to meet the needs of refugees in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates: On 10 September 2015 a letter signed by 37 Bishops was sent to the Prime Minister. This letter set out how the Church stands ready to play their part but also how they believe the country could resettle more than 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years.The Home Office wants to involve the Church in the design and implementation of the longer term programme of work. We are happy to have meetings with representatives from the Church to discuss the issues raised in the Bishops letter. Some of these meetings have already taken place with more planned over the next few weeks.

Refugees: Syria

Lord Blencathra: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost, in the first year, of accepting Syrian refugees.

Lord Bates: The first 12 months of each refugee’s resettlement costs will be funded using ODA (Official Development Assistance). After year one we will also provide additional funding to assist with costs incurred in future years.The anticipated cost for the first year is still being worked out between relevant Government departments and local authorities. We expect to agree indicative costings in the near future.There are a range of factors that have to be included when it comes to bringing people to the UK and helping them to settle. Each person coming from Syria will have different needs so it is not possible to say how much the support for any individual will cost.

Refugees: Syria

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which towns in the United Kingdom have been designated as potential destinations for Syrian refugees arriving under the Government’s Gateway Protection Programme; which town councils have so far indicated acceptance; and of what numbers.

Lord Bates: Syrian refugees are brought to the United Kingdom as part of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme. This scheme has been expanded to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament. This is in addition to those we resettle under the Gateway and Mandate schemes which are completely separate schemes.Resettlement under the government schemes is voluntary on the part of local authorities. We are grateful to those who take on this role and will continue to work in partnership with them. We do not disclose the details of where refugees will be resettled upon their arrival in the UK under the Government resettlement schemes as this may undermine the privacy and recovery of this vulnerable group of people.

Emergency Services: Telecommunications

Lord Paddick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to push for a global standard for mission-critical voice functionality over commercial 4G networks.

Lord Bates: The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is the international body that writes standards for 4G technology (http://www.3gpp.org/) . The Home Office has been attending a number of working groups within 3GPP since November 2012.In January 2015 a new working group within 3GPP, SA6 Mission-critical applications was created specifically to standardise mission-critical voice functionality over 4G networks. The Home Office supported the creation of SA6, currently funds the chairman of that working group, and sends other attendees to this, as well as related meetings within 3GPP.

Human Trafficking: Compensation

Baroness Suttie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to keep records on the amount of compensation received by victims of trafficking for labour exploitation through (1) the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, (2) civil claims for damages, (3) employment tribunal claims, (4) court-awarded criminal compensation, and (5) repayments for breaches of the National Minimum Wage.

Lord Bates: Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority does not provide data breakdown of compensation awarded to victims by crime type. This is because it awards compensation in line with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme tariff of injuries rather than by the type of incident that led to those injuries.Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) administers civil claims, employment tribunal claims, and court-awarded criminal compensation. Civil claims and employment tribunal claims do not deal with cases where a crime has been alleged, so data is not recorded on victims of modern slavery. For court-awarded criminal compensations, the sentence passed on offenders for each offence committed is recorded, including any compensation awarded. This data is not cross-referenced against compensation received by victims of the offence, so compensation received by victims of trafficking for labour exploitation is not recorded.There are no plans to change the way data is collected by CICA or HMCTS that would provide the information sought about compensation received by victims of trafficking for labour exploitation.HMRC work with the police, Home Office and local authorities in cases that may involve slavery and servitude. HMRC do not collate specific data on arrears identified but are currently reviewing ways to record any National Minimum Wage outcomes in Modern Slavery cases they undertake.

Refugees: Syria

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been their assessment of the UNHCR claim that the United Kingdom is legally obliged to resettle 114 Syrian refugees who have arrived by boat at the British military base in Cyprus.

Lord Bates: Those migrants who seek asylum will have their claims considered by the Cypriot authorities on behalf of the Sovereign Base Authorities (SBA). There is no obligation to allow those recognised as refugees to take up residence in the UK.

Refugees: Children

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering allowing refugee children to join relatives, such as grandparents, in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates: Our refugee family reunion policy allows immediate family members of a person in the UK with refugee leave or humanitarian protection status - that is a spouse or partner and children under the age of 18, who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin - to reunite with them in the UK. We have no plans to extend these provisions.Where a family reunion application is rejected under the Immigration Rules, such as in the case of refugee child applying to join extended relatives, the Entry Clearance Officer must consider whether there are exceptional circumstances or compassionate reasons to justify granting a visa outside the Rules.

Refugees: Mediterranean Sea

Lord Higgins: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure that migrants rescued from drowning by the British Navy in the Mediterranean are no longer disembarked in the European Union, in order to discourage migrants from travelling in unseaworthy vessels provided by people smugglers.

Lord Bates: As set out in the Government’s response to written questions HL2307 and HL2339 under international law the UK has a duty to not return people who are rescued at sea to countries where they would be at risk of serious harm. Migrants rescued in the Mediterranean must therefore be disembarked at the nearest safe country.The Government, however, maintains that the link must be broken between getting on a boat and automatically achieving residence in the Europe. The UK continues to push for action through the EU and UN to tackle the causes of illegal migration in order to discourage people from making these dangerous journeys. The UK is pursuing and disrupting the organised crime groups profiting from the people smuggling trade, including through the creation of an Organised Immigration Crime Task Force.Migrants who do reach the EU need to be registered, screened and processed when they arrive to control their movement as well as to distinguish between those in real need of international protection and economic migrants. The UK is supporting the EU ‘Hotspots’ initiative which will help give effect to this.The UK is leading the way for a sustainable and effective approach to the migrant situation and at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 8 October the Home Secretary reiterated that in order for EU Member States to focus their resources on helping those in genuine need, an effective returns system for those not found to be in need of international protection is vital.

Police: Finance

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the claim by the Chief Constable of Cumbria that the proposed changes in the funding formula for police forces mean that forces could be reduced to a "blue light" emergency response service, and that those changes could lead to the end of community policing in the county.

Lord Bates: We are currently refining the proposed police funding model in light of responses to the public consultation and continue to engage with Police and Crime Commissioners and forces as part of this process. The model will not be finalised until we have considered further feedback from policing partners. Allocations for individual force areas have not been set and no decisions on funding will be made until the Spending Review reports in November.The proposed model uses objective indicators to allocate funding according to relative need. We consider this approach to be a fairer and more transparent method of allocating limited resources in comparison to the current complex, opaque and out of date formula.Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, in line with the local priorities set by their Police and Crime Commissioner.

Police: Finance

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what extent the level of recorded crime in a police force’s area affects the amount of funding allocated under the proposed new formula for funding of police forces.

Lord Bates: The proposed police funding model is based on a set of objective indicators that correlate strongly with long term patterns of crime.As we set out in our consultation on a proposed new funding model, we believe it is not appropriate to directly base force level allocations on crime statistics as these are directly influenced by police activity.

Aviation: Training

Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are considering to allow flight training organisations based in the United Kingdom to train overseas student pilots for a professional pilot’s licence.

Lord Bates: Flight training organisations can teach courses lasting up to six months to international students, under the short-term study visa route.Alternatively, they may use the Tier 4 visa route where the course lasts longer than six months and they hold a Tier 4 sponsor licence. To qualify for a Tier 4 sponsor licence, an institution must have a track record of teaching UK or EEA students, and be teaching courses which meet Tier 4 requirements. To meet Tier 4 requirements, a course must lead to an approved qualification, as defined in the Tier 4 Guidance for Sponsors.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have amended the Ministerial Code to remove the duty to comply with international law and treaty obligations.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Ministers are under a duty to comply with international law including treaties signed and ratified on behalf of the United Kingdom.

Lord Bridges of Headley: I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to the Noble Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 5 November 2015 to HL3046,HL3047,HL3048,which I have attached for ease of reference.The Ministerial Code is normally updated and reissued after a General Election. The updated Code makes clear that Ministers must abide by the law. The obligations of Ministers under the law including international law remain unchanged.Information relating to internal discussions and advice is not disclosed.



Referral answers
(PDF Document, 73.95 KB)

Ministerial Policy Advisers: Codes of Practice

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers increases the role and powers of Special Advisers; and, if so, whether they plan to bring forward regulations under section 2(5) of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 so that consultant lobbyists would need to register communications made personally to a Special Adviser.

Lord Bridges of Headley: It is usual practice to publish an updated Code of Conduct for Special Advisers after an election. The updated Code, published on 15 October, does not change the role and powers of special advisers.

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new wording in the Ministerial Code, issued in October, alters the legal obligations or duty of ministers to comply with international law and treaties.

Lord Bridges of Headley: I refer the Noble Lady to the answer given to the Noble Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 5 November 2015 to HL3046,HL3047,HL3048, which I have attached for ease of reference.The Ministerial Code is normally updated and reissued after a General Election. The updated Code makes clear that Ministers must abide by the law. The obligations of Ministers under the law including international law remain unchanged.Information relating to internal discussions and advice is not disclosed.



Referral answers
(PDF Document, 73.95 KB)

Ministers: Codes of Practice

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the October publication of a revised Ministerial Code, whether the omission in section 1.2 of a commitment to international law and treaty obligations represents a reduction in the role that the United Kingdom’s international obligations play in domestic decision-making, and whether the duty of ministers to comply with the law continues to include international law and treaties.

Lord Bridges of Headley: I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to the Noble Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 5 November 2015 to HL3046,HL3047,HL3048, which I attach for ease of reference.The Ministerial Code is normally updated and reissued after a General Election. The updated Code makes clear that Ministers must abide by the law. The obligations of Ministers under the law including international law remain unchanged.Information relating to internal discussions and advice is not disclosed.



Referral Answers
(PDF Document, 73.95 KB)

Government Departments: Mass Media

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated cost to answer a media query to the Government and whether they impose a limit on the number of questions a member of the media can ask in a week.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The Government receives a large number of media queries each day, which are received and managed by the relevant department.The amount of time each media query takes depends on many factors and variables, so it is not possible to estimate an average cost or time. No restriction is placed on the number of queries a journalist can make.

Older Workers: Average Earnings

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the estimated average earnings from employment of 1,156,000 employees aged 65 years or older, as shown in Summary Table 2(2) of the Office for National Statistics UK Labour Market Bulletin for October by gender.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



ONS correspondence on statistics
(PDF Document, 88.55 KB)

Older Workers

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the numbers of (1) employed males, and (2) employed females, aged 65 years or older (a) five years ago, (b) 10 years ago, and (c) 20 years ago.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



ONS correspondence on statistics
(PDF Document, 147.96 KB)

Department of Health

Junior Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposed new contract for junior doctors on (1) their average salary and the number of doctors who will be financially disadvantaged, (2) the number of hours they will be expected to work to receive overtime benefits, (3) the number of hours per week they will be expected to work, and (4) the overall levels of patient care.

Lord Prior of Brampton: On 4 November, the Government published a firm offer for a new contract published by NHS Employers alongside a new calculator that offers specific information on how the new contract will impact doctors’ salary. On the same day, I issued a Written Ministerial Statement (HLWS282) in Parliament and the Secretary of State wrote directly to all junior doctors. The Government guaranteed that under the new contract:‒ average pay will be maintained, and that the pay of all junior doctors working safe hours in the transition to the new contract would be protected and those junior doctors who could complete their training within four years will continue to be paid based on the existing contract. We want the British Medical Association to work with us on the detail and the Secretary of State for Health will be setting out the details of the Government’s offer to junior doctors in the coming days;‒ basic pay will reflect a 40 hour week, and planned hours worked on top of this (up to a maximum of eight hours) will be paid proportionately i.e at the standard rate for the time of day worked;‒ there will be a mutual contractual obligation on employers and trainees to respect the following limits on working hours:o A maximum of 48 weekly hours on average (extended, but still limited, to 56 hours a week on average for those trainees who choose to opt- out of the Working Time Regulations);o New maximum of 72 hours in any consecutive seven day period (lower than the 91 hours possible within average weekly hours of 48);o No rostered shift to exceed 13 hours (excluding overnight on-call periods); ando A new limit of no more than five consecutive long shifts (i.e. more than 10 hours); no more than four consecutive night shifts (where at least three hours fall between 11pm and 6am); and no more than seven consecutive days and nights on-call.‒ introduce a safer, fairer contract for junior doctors that will help improve their training experience to better support patient care every day of the week.The published contract offer to junior doctors and calculator is attached and can be found at:http://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/need-to-know/junior-doctors-contract



Junior Doctor Contract
(PDF Document, 687.46 KB)

Diseases

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the discovery of an illness similar to Lyme Disease, caused by the tick-borne bacteria Borrelia miyamotoi, which is reported to be resistant to antibiotics.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Public Health England (PHE) regularly reviews the scientific literature and in response to reports of B. miyamotoi being present in ticks in other countries, PHE has studied relevant ticks in England, finding that three out of 954 ticks studied contained B. miyamotoi, compared to 40 that were positive for the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease. The public health significance of B. miyamotoi has been unclear, but accumulating published evidence from around 50 human cases, suggests it can cause disease in man, most commonly a febrile illness.To date, no human infections with Borrelia miyamotoi have been reported in the United Kingdom. All cases of B. miyamotoi infection reported in the scientific literature to date made a full recovery following treatment with appropriate antibiotics.

Department of Health

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who are the members of, and what are the terms of reference for, the Department of Health's Appraisal Alignment Working Group.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The current membership of the Appraisal Alignment Working Group is as follows:Department of HealthKeith Derbyshire (Chair) Chief Analyst and Chief EconomistDanny Palnoch Senior Economic AdviserPeter Bennett Senior Operational Research ScientistDr Mark Bale Deputy Chief Medical OfficerNational Institute for Health and Care ExcellenceLeeza Osipenko Associate DirectorMeindert Boysen Associate DirectorPublic Health EnglandProf Brian Ferguson Director for Knowledge & IntelligenceDr Anne Mackie Director of ScreeningMonitorJohn Curnow Economics Project DirectorZephan Trent Impact Assessment LeadNHS EnglandDr Donald Franklin Senior Economic Adviser NHS EnglandAmy Lee Economic AdvisorBrunel UniversityProf Martin Buxton Emeritus Professor of Health EconomicsLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Representing Joint Committee for Vaccines and Immunisations and Safety of Blood Tissues and OrgansProf John Cairns Professor of Health EconomicsThe current Terms of Reference (agreed with ministers in February 2014) is replicated below:Appraisal Alignment Working Group [AAWG] Terms of Reference & ObjectivesThe Appraisal Alignment Working Group (AAWG) is comprised of policy and analytic staff who work in, or give advice to, DH and its ALBs on the cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness of programmes, technologies and policies.The purpose of the group is to share knowledge on the various techniques employed across the Health and Care sector, to discuss and debate the pros and cons of different approaches employed, to consider ways of rendering results comparable, and to understand the reasons for differences in approaches.The working group is not a decision making body. Rather it is advisory. Individual members representing different organisations will take back recommendations and questions to their parent bodies for consideration.It is proposed to have meetings every six to eight weeks to achieve the ‘Must Do’ (e.g. primary) objective described below.The ‘Must Do’Before the next Spending Review, (pencilled in for June to October 2015), it is essential the Department of Health (DH) and its Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) can present a consistent approach o HM Treasury (HMT) on the cost benefit of different programmes (e.g. vaccinations, screening new technologies). The cost benefit case for spending presented to HMT should follow public sector best practice as set out by HMT, in its Green Book. Therefore results of appraisals need to be capable of being expressed in HMT Green Book methodology terms (ie using the Green Book methodology as a “reference case”).Having successfully achieved that, the Working Group will take stock and decide if the group (or some other forum) should continue and progress on three desiderata:economic justification for methods employed in each area and clear rationale for when methods differ and/or diverge from HMT’s Green Book.achieve greater alignment of techniques between the different sectors and organisationsserve as an expert panel to advise on the development and application of new techniques on an on-going basis.This work would be less time critical and could be pursued by meetings every eight to twelve weeks.

NHS: Private Sector

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the capacity of NHS England and Clinical Commissioning Groups to monitor contracts between the National Health Service and the private sector, and (2) their effectiveness in doing so.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they have ensured that the lessons learned from the Public Accounts Committee report identifying significant weaknesses in central government’s capacity to monitor and enforce contracts are extended to the role of Clinical Commissioning Groups.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is currently undergoing a transformation of its commercial and procurement functions and, as part of this process, a need has been identified for improved contract management process and for the deployment of skilled contract management resources within the organisation.With regard to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), NHS England has established a Lead Provider Framework Agreement for CCGs (and other public sector entities), providing access to commissioning support services, including procurement and contract management capability. NHS England’s website provides a large number of tools, resources and ‘how to use’ website, all of which can be accessed at: www.england.nhs.uk/lpf. The Lead Provider Framework provides access to nine accredited providers of commissioning support services who are already providing effective contracts and procurement support at scale to other CCGs and commissioners. Most CCGs have undertaken – or are in the process of undertaking – a review of commissioning support needs in order to determine the most effective way of meeting their future capacity and capability requirements, and are supported by NHS England in their make/share/buy decisions and any subsequent procurements under the Lead Provider Framework.As indicated, the Lead Provider Framework has numerous tools and resources which are too large to attach to this reply or place in the Library, therefore it can only be accessed via NHS England’s website.

NHS: Private Sector

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they have ensured that the National Health Service has fully absorbed the lessons of the Public Accounts Committee report identifying significant weaknesses in central government’s capacity to monitor and enforce contracts with large private companies.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Department is addressing the recommendations set out in the Public Accounts Committee Report. Through our normal accountability arrangements we have sought assurance from our arm’s length bodies (ALBs), including NHS England, that they have the necessary organisational architecture in place to support good contract management and will continually strive to improve by applying best practice. The Department is building a contract management function which will seek to advise ALBs on how to apply effective contract management.Each ALB will be responsible for determining its next steps. Each ALB will need to provide the necessary assurances that it is operating effectively and that it has the requisite capability and capacity to support effective contract management of significant amounts of public money.

NHS: Private Sector

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many contracts between the National Health Service and the private sector have been subject to (1) contract query notes, (2) termination of contracts, and (3) financial sanctions, since the Health and Social Care Act 2012 came into force.

Lord Prior of Brampton: As part of the transformation of commercial and procurement functions, NHS England and the clinical commissioning groups will be developing a centralised view of the contract data as recommended in the Centre for Health and Public Interest independent body report. Information in accordance with that report will be available in the future.

NHS: Private Sector

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the report of the Centre for Health and the Public Interest on contracting in the National Health Service.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Under NHS England’s Standard Financial Instruction both clinical commissioning groups and commissioning support units have an obligation to provide NHS England with details of all contracts entered into with third party suppliers. These arrangements are then subject to review by NHS England’s Commercial and Legal Teams.